Epidemiological, clinical characteristics, complications, and treatment of measles in children under 4 years old who have not been vaccinated at children's hospital 1, 2018-2020

Abstract

The increase in the number of measles cases not only poses challenges for the healthcare system but also highlights the need for further research into the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, complications, and treatment of measles in children, particularly among those unvaccinated. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted on a series of 141 pediatric patients aged 1 month to 4 years who were diagnosed with measles and had not been vaccinated, admitted to Children’s Hospital 1 from January 2018 to December 2020. Results indicated that children under 1 year old had the highest risk of measles at 77.3%, with a higher proportion of cases in males compared to females. Among the children, 6.4% had been in contact with individuals infected with measles prior to their own illness. Clinical symptoms included rash and fever (100%), fever >39°C (100%), and Koplik spots (67.4%). Nearly 80% of children experienced complications such as pneumonia (62.4%), gastroenteritis (39.7%), and oral ulcers (7.8%). Over 90% of patients were treated with antibiotics. The average duration of fever in children under 9 months was 5.2 ± 1.3 days, shorter than in children over 9 months at 6.1 ± 1.8 days. The average length of hospital stay was 3.4 ± 2 days. These findings underscore the importance of awareness campaigns on vaccination and reconsideration of treatment approaches to minimize antibiotic use and prevent antibiotic resistance.